Chapter 85 I climbed up the wall.
Small.
Very small.
Having experienced the overwhelming size of the Komodo-Lania, I felt an immense contrast.
No, I didn’t expect such performance, even if it was called miniaturization.
Look at Coelophysis.
Based on body length, the difference would be about four or five times at most.
But what about me now?
Komodo-Lania’s body length was 7-8 meters.
Green Gecko’s body length was 20-30 cm.
It had shrunk much more than I anticipated.
This unfamiliar view.
No, I couldn’t just call it unfamiliar.
It was similar to the view when I first met Nephila Jurassica.
“Gegegegek!”
I let out a very ferocious lizard cry.
“Kekekek.”
Compi let out a very wicked laugh, as if it found something amusing.
No, it was only miniaturization lv1, so why was the effect so good?
…Wait, then what about that Compi?
It must have reached the extreme of miniaturization.
What happens if it cancels the miniaturization?
“Geg…”
I watched Compi carefully.
Come to think of it, that guy was a dinosaur acknowledged by the Snake Queen.
It might have a body size comparable to or larger than the Snake Queen’s main body.
No, it was almost certain that the main body was incredibly large.
But that’s Compi.
The very definition of a small dinosaur.
Can it grow that big?
“Kehehe.”
Compi pointed at me with its finger and laughed.
I knew it would smile like that before dancing; it must have anticipated this outcome.
How petty it looks.
“Keh?”
Wow. You can read minds too, huh?
Compi started wiggling its body beside me with a blank look on its face.
This guy knows how to mock a lizard.
Whining.
My dragon claws were crying.
…I didn’t know what I could do with these tiny claws.
But couldn’t I pulverize Compi with Nine Yin White Bone Claws and Gecko Death Beam?
So that it couldn’t even open its mouth.
“Geuruk…”
Even my cry sounded weird.
Komodo-Lania was all about “gegek” and “grrr.”
Most communication was done with “gegek” and “grrr” was used to threaten enemies.
It was a dignified sound, at least.
But now, I couldn’t even make that sound.
“Gegegek!”
I let out a sad gegek sound.
“Kekekek!”
Compi, who had been mocking me for a long time, slowly approached me.
It seemed to mean it had had enough fun.
Sure. Quickly tell me how to adjust my size.
I had the mark of the Snake Queen.
I looked at the pretty necklace hanging around my neck.
…Huh?
Why was it still hanging on my neck?
The size of the ornament had reduced.
It didn’t stand out even on the neck of a gecko lizard.
Was this also a divine artifact or something similar?
If it hadn’t shrunk, the result could have been disastrous.
My slender neck could have snapped.
Anyway, the mark of the Snake Queen was intact.
If Compi didn’t want to go against the Snake Queen, it would teach me how to return to normal.
“Keck!”
When Compi made that sound, Coelophysis, who had guided me, came running.
It had looked small, but now it seemed like a monster more than twice my size.
“Kek!”
“Keck!”
Compi and Coelophysis communicated with each other in “keck.”
They could communicate like that?
I also communicated well with spiders.
Since Compi was the subject of faith and Coelophysis believed in that faith, they could communicate with such sounds.
Their “keck” conversation ended, and Coelophysis looked at me.
“Keck…”
Coelophysis came forward.
With a blank look similar to Compi, it started wiggling its body.
It was the reverse of the dance I saw earlier.
When an inaudible song seemed to linger in my ears, Coelophysis’s body began to change.
Crack.
Snap.
Was this how it would look if I watched the process of my evolution?
It felt like watching the release of a bone-shrinking technique.
Its body grew bigger and bigger.
So big that it couldn’t be contained in the view of a gecko lizard.
“Gigigigik!”
Finally, Coelophysis returned to its original form.
No, it was correct to say it was slightly bigger than the Coelophysis I knew.
“Keck.”
Compi tilted its head and spoke to me.
It seemed to say that’s how you could cancel the miniaturization.
Showing me directly.
I wanted to check Compi’s size too.
Well, I could do that later.
The important thing was to return to my original form.
Until I improved my mastery of miniaturization or found another method, I should seal off miniaturization.
If I became this small, I would be vulnerable in many ways.
To enemy attacks and to the onslaught of Shikshik and the spiders.
I just needed to mimic that dance?
Let’s give it a try.
With the blankest look possible.
…Do I need to mimic the look too?
Just in case.
I wiggled my body diligently.
I wiggled my tail gently.
Now, return me to my original body!
“Gegek?”
But my body didn’t change.
Gecko lizard.
Nothing more, nothing less.
“Gegegegek!”
Damn!
I fell for Compi’s prank again.
So petty.
Just wait until I return to normal.
I would tell on it to my wife.
With that in mind, I glared at Compi.
Signaling with my eyes to reveal how to cancel it already.
“…Keck?”
Compi’s expression was strange.
Why aren’t you changing?
It looked very flustered.
“Gegek?”
Hey. The prank’s over now.
I admitted I was wrong, so hurry and undo it.
…Is this real?
“Kekeck…”
“Geeeeeek!”
*
Compi left me in the cave and ran off somewhere.
It seemed to be looking for something that could return me to my original form.
I wasn’t sure, but I believed so.
“Geek…”
I looked at my reflection in a small puddle in the cave.
Some features of Komodo-Lania remained.
My claws were still sharp and my body was covered in dragon scales.
【Komodo-Lania LV2】
HP: 4162/4162
MP: 477/922
【Status】
「Mark of the Snake Queen」「Mark of the Snake Princess」「Miniaturization」
Moreover, looking at the status window, my HP and MP remained unchanged.
But the reduced size was too critical.
Of course, if I recalled my past experiences, I could make good use of this body.
I could move around using the Soaring Dragon’s Ascension Step and strike down enemies with Dragon Claws or Gecko Death Beam.
But even facing an enemy like a Utahraptor would be a struggle.
Even if I scratched it hundreds of times with these tiny claws, it wouldn’t cause much damage.
The same went for Gecko Death Beam. It was better than Dragon Claws in terms of range, but I couldn’t expect the same performance as before.
If I trained martial arts to the extreme like Compi and focused on physical techniques, this body might be useful.
But it didn’t suit my current fighting style.
I needed to return to my original form as soon as possible.
Fortunately, miniaturization was a temporary phenomenon.
I wasn’t sure how temporary, though.
Since Compi went to find a solution, waiting patiently might resolve the problem.
For now, I decided to stop worrying about miniaturization.
There was no point in pondering over it now.
Let’s see what benefits I could gain from this small body.
Being small also had its advantages.
Tang So-yeong, who was surprised when she first saw me.
Would she be as surprised if I were this size?
No, she would have hidden this handsome lizard in her sleeve instead.
Being small meant reducing others’ wariness.
Like those lizards tilting their heads at me.
Compi.
I tried to keep my integrity, but what you did was too despicable.
I’d prepare a groundwork.
If I became friendly with those lizards in this form, I could lead them away from the Soaring Dragon Faith and into the Gecko Path.
In other words, those lizards could be a treasure trove of divinity.
And how valuable would it be to take the divinity from Compi itself?
This was your karma, Compi.
“Gegegek.”
Even like this, I had a body that attracted Shikshik with dragon scales.
I might be perceived as a handsome lizard to reptiles and spiders.
More lizards tilted their heads when I made a dignified sound.
Yes.
It would be their first time seeing a lizard covered in dragon scales.
【Red-eyed Armored Lizard LV34】
【Dry-tailed Lizard LV42】
【Green Anole Lizard LV29】
What’s with your levels?
“Gegek!”
No, is it okay for lizard levels to be this high?
The common sense I knew of this world was that creatures could evolve into the next species when they reached the limit of their level.
Was that only applicable to me with a status window?
No, it couldn’t be.
I had seen the Titanoboa in the Silver Dragon Cave evolve into a Hydra.
I had also seen Nephila Jurassica evolve into an Arachne.
So why were those lizards’ levels so high?
Evolution required
a mystical energy.
In other words, did they fail to evolve because they couldn’t accumulate inner strength?
That didn’t seem to be the case.
Some of them naturally sat in the lotus position.
Compi must have taught them energy cultivation.
Come to think of it, Compi hadn’t evolved either.
Was it intentionally refusing to evolve and training in a small lizard’s body?
No matter how I thought about it, it seemed it was deliberately not evolving.
But I didn’t know the reason.
If it was because of techniques usable only by a small body, learning miniaturization would solve the problem.
Compi taught well.
No matter how high the level, there was a limit to the species.
Even if the Green Gecko’s level reached 100, it would still be much weaker than a level 1 Komodo.
As I said before, the size difference was critical.
It would be hard to overcome unless you were someone like Compi.
Even a single Terror Bird around level 20 could eat all the lizards here.
Of course, guys like Coelophysis would stop it.
No matter how high the level, I had to do what I had to do.
Ignoring a level 2 lizard was problematic.
Just by simple calculation, if I had stayed as a Green Gecko, my level would have surpassed 100.
“Gegek!”
When I cried out again, the lizards began to gather.
“…Gek?”
No, a lot of them gathered.
A tidal wave of lizards over level 30 engulfed me.
“Geeeeek!”
I overlooked one thing.
My face covered in dragon scales seemed extremely handsome by lizard standards.
Those guys started groping my body with their short arms.
“Kiek!”
Did the touch of Toos and Pus come to mind because of my mood?
It was a touch mixed with goodwill, but also impure.
Toos.
Pus.
Nephila Jurassica.
Tang what’s-her-name.
Master.
Queen.
Princess.
I’m sorry.
This pathetic lizard felt like it was about to lose something big here.
The tide of lizards weakened at some point.
Some lizards seemed to control those crazy lizards.
Such excellent lizards existed.
I felt a small sense of admiration.
Sss.
The tail of the lizard that protected me landed on my body.
As the chubby tails overlapped, I felt a bit strange.
Surely, a reptile’s body would be cool.
But what was this warmth?
It wasn’t scientifically warm.
I couldn’t explain why, but I felt a certain affection.
Maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but it felt like familial affection.
Let me express my gratitude.
“Gegegek!”
“Gekgek.”
…Gekgek?
That peculiar cry.
That chubby tail.
That broad foot.
“Gegegegegek!”
“Gekgekgek!”
The identity of the lizards protecting me was none other than gecko lizards.